Garden hoses are a necessity for homeowners for lawn and garden care, as well as general all-around home care. Typically, hoses are found either wound and left on the ground near a water spigot, or wound on one of many known hose reel-type storage devices. These devices include portable hose reel carts, stationary frames, and stationary hose reel hangers that can be mounted to a surface of a building, such as an outer wall of a house. A typical portable hose reel cart, or frame, includes a rotatable reel or spool in which a hose is wrapped around, positioned between a pair of fixed side frames. The fixed side frames are designed to provide support for the various other components that make up the hose reel cart. The hose reel cart may further contain a pair of hubs which are coupled to the housing structure. Common hose reel assemblies may also contain a crank for rotating the reel or spool such that the hose can be wound or unwound about the spool. To provide for flow of water from a water source to the hose, hose reel structures further contain water conduits. Typical water conduits have a movable outlet tube and a generally stationary inlet tube. The stationary inlet of the conduit extends away from the reel and is structured to be coupled to a supply hose, which is further coupled to a water supply. The movable outlet of the conduit is disposed on the circumference of the reel. An outlet hose is coupled to the movable outlet and is used to deliver water to the end use. The hose is merely wound upon the reel for storage, and pulled or dispensed from the reel for use. These carts include wheels to permit ready transport of the hose from one location to another.
Water hoses are used to transfer water from one location to another, a necessity for homeowners attempting to efficiently water lawns and gardens, as well as for general all-around home care. Before the use of hose reel storage systems, water hoses were typically left on the ground in a coiled or uncoiled position, either such position exposing the hose to the collection of dirt. If the hose was lifted from the ground, the hose may be stored in an arrangement that would lead to early degradation. The advent of hose reels gained wide public acceptance as a convenient device for properly storing hoses. These devices include portable hose reel carts, stationary hose reel carts, and stationary hose reel hangers that can be mounted to a surface of a building, all of which store the water hoses in a location in a convenient area for reuse. The hose reel provided proper coiling of the hose, positioning off of the ground, and in many instances, portability in a storage condition.
Hose carts are commonly purchased by the general consumer, wherein it is desirable that the hose cart can be easily assembled with minimal use of hand tools. In an effort to provide easy-to-assemble hose reel assemblies, they are typically made of plastic and sold with as many preassembled parts as possible. While such efforts have provided the general consumer with a product that is ready to use out of the box, disassembly for maintenance or repair can be difficult for some consumers. For example, in some prior art devices, users have difficulty in securing the reel hub which is necessary for the introduction of water.
A typical portable hose reel cart includes an open, rotatable reel or spool positioned between a pair of side frames. These carts include wheels to permit ready transport of the hose from one location to another. The hose is merely wound upon the reel for storage and pulled or dispensed from the reel for use.
The construction of a hose reel is primarily of molded plastic components having a rotatable spool for wheeling of the flexible hose, a frame for supporting the spool, and a means for rotating the spool, most commonly performed by a manually operated hand crank. Illustrations of the structure and operation of hose reels and hose reel carts can be viewed and referenced to various patents issued to the Suncast Corporation, such as Reissue 32,510; U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,512,361; 4,777,976; 5,046,520; 5,901,730; 5,998,552; 6,050,291; 6,834,670; 6,877,687; and 7,017,603, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
Common to such hose reels is the use of a crank handle secured to a hub for rotation of the spool. The spools are typically arranged with the crank handle located at the center of the hub to wind the flexible hose. Variations to the use of the hand crank include a battery powered hose reel wherein a small direct current motor obtaining power from a rechargeable battery supply can be coupled to the spool, providing rotation. In many instances, manual rotation of the spool is not convenient to the consumer. For instance, the consumer may require automatic hose take-up due to a physical ailment, or the consumer may simply choose to have the convenience of automatic hose take-up. U.S. Pat. No. 6,877,687 is directed to a battery powered hose reel to provide an alternative to manual cranking of a hose reel. The battery powers a low draw motor, allowing hundreds of hose retrievals before recharging; recharging may be performed by coupling to an electrical source such as an AC source or DC solar panel supplied current.
While some hose reel assemblies are movable through attachment of wheels to the base frame, such units can be clumsy and require additional parts to be manufactured and assembled.
Therefore, what is needed in the art is an improved hose reel which can be constructed using a minimal number of components, is portable, and can traverse between a stationary mode and a mobile mode to provide easy storage and transportation of a hose.